Tribute to Jennifer’s ‘crucial’ role

Jennifer Malone, well known throughout the district to generations of entrepreneurs, is retiring after 45 years of service to Newry & Mourne Co-op & Enterprise Agency.

Enterprise Agency Chief Executive, Conor Patterson, paid tribute saying: “Jennifer played an important role in this organisation’s crucial work promoting economic opportunity in the Newry and Mourne area.

Newry and Mourne Co-operative & Enterprise Agency current and recently retired staff who attended the dinner for Jennifer Malone’s Retirement front row l-r Michelle Frost, Ursula O’Connor, Jennifer Malone, Pauline Coghlan, Carol Magee, back row l-r Colin Hanna, Stephen McClelland, Conor Patterson, Liam Quinn.INNR2237

placeholder image — Newry and Mourne Co-operative & Enterprise Agency current and recently retired staff who attended the dinner for Jennifer Malone’s Retirement front row l-r Michelle Frost, Ursula O’Connor, Jennifer Malone, Pauline Coghlan, Carol Magee, back row l-r Colin Hanna, Stephen McClelland, Conor Patterson, Liam Quinn.INNR2237

“When she started working at the Co-op, Newry had the highest unemployment rate in Western Europe. Almost one in three people in the general population were out of work. In parts of Newry, two thirds of men had no job.

"This was also a time in which we had widespread daily political violence and instability. This was an unprecedentedly difficult time in our history.

“How different is our area now. Yes, we have problems, but nothing today could come anywhere close to the scale of the challenges we faced in Jennifer's first 15 years with the Co-op & Enterprise Agency.”

While Jennifer was based for most of her time at WIN, in Newry, her influence extended to Kilkeel, Warrenpoint and South Armagh, where she managed industrial units and office premises for the agency.

Mr Patterson added: “Hers has been a career of hard work, dedication and belief in public service.

“I believe that everyone who interacted with Jennifer would say the same thing, namely that she would go the extra mile to practise that old Newry maxim to ‘always do a good turn’.

“She did many of them and continues to do so beyond her work at WIN, not least through her involvement with the church and her huge support to the drama society and the arts community in the area more generally.

“To say that Jennifer has done more than her shift is an understatement. It has been a privilege to work with Jennifer all these years.”